I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4167 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require multi-line telephone 

systems to have a default configuration that permits users to directly 

initiate a call to 9–1–1 without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, 

or post-fix, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 3, 2015 

Mr. GOHMERT (for himself, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee, 

Mr. THOMPSON of California, and Mr. CULBERSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require multiline telephone systems to have a default configuration 

that permits users to directly initiate a call to 9–1– 

1 without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or 

post-fix, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kari’s Law Act of 

5 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFAULT CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE TELE2 PHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING OF 9– 

3 1–1. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Communications 

5 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 721. DEFAULT CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE 

8 TELEPHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING 

9 OF 9–1–1. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A person engaged in the busi11 ness of manufacturing, importing, selling, leasing, or in12 stalling multi-line telephone systems may not manufacture 

13 or import for use in the United States, sell or lease or 

14 offer to sell or lease in the United States, or install in 

15 the United States a multi-line telephone system, unless the 

16 default configuration of such system is such that a user 

17 may directly initiate a call to 9–1–1 from any station 

18 equipped with dialing facilities, without dialing any addi19 tional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk20 access code such as the digit ‘9’, regardless of whether 

21 the user is required to dial such a digit, code, prefix, or 

22 post-fix for other calls. 

23 ‘‘(b) ON-SITE NOTIFICATION.—A person engaged in 

24 the business of installing multi-line telephone systems, in 

25 installing such a system, shall configure the system to pro26 vide a notification to a central location at the facility 


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1 where the system is installed when a person at the facility 

2 initiates a call to 9–1–1 using the system, if the system 

3 is able to be configured to provide the notification without 

4 an improvement to the hardware of the system. 

5 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—This section shall be enforced 

6 under title V, except that section 501 applies only to the 

7 extent that such section provides for the punishment of 

8 a fine. 

9 ‘‘(d) MULTI-LINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM DEFINED.— 

10 The term ‘multi-line telephone system’ has the meaning 

11 given such term in section 6502 of the Middle Class Tax 

12 Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471).’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a multi-line tele15 phone system that is manufactured, imported, offered for 

16 first sale or lease, first sold or leased, or installed after 

17 the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act. 

Æ 


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